Pneumato-electric switch for musical instruments and the like



v A. H. WILLIAMS.

PNEUMATO ELECTRIC SWITCH FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND THE LIKE.

' APPLICATIOII FILED 001.9. 1911.

1,388,989. PatentedAug. 30,1921;

2 SHEETSSI-IEET I.

A. H. WILLIAMSL PNEUMATO ELECTRIC SWITCH FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9,1917.-

1 3 8 8 9 9 I Patented Aug. 30, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 A TTORNEYS .UNIIJTED(STATES-PATENT OFFICE.

' ARTHUR HOWARD WILLIAMS, 'orMmNEaroLis, MINNEaoTA.

rnnuiraromrnqrnio swi rcngro z. ivrus oeriusmiwmnn'rs AND THE'LIKE.

T all uihom it may 1 975 y l I Be it known that I, ARTHUR HOWARD' WILLIAMS, a citizen of the United- States, and a resident of Minneapolis in'th'e county\ of Hennepin and State "of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Pneumato-ElectricSwitches for Musical Instruments and the like, of which the followin is a specification. Y

My inventionrelates to improvements in pneumato-electric controls for musical instruments, and it consists in the construc tions, combinations, andfarrangements'here in described and claimed. I p The foremost'object of the invention" is to provide a pneumato-electric switch to be used in the operation-of musical instruments such as organs, pianos, and'the' like.-

in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which I Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating-the 'embodiment of the pneumato-electricswitch in a kinetoscope, for the purpose'of operating an organ accompaniment to the picture,

Fig. 2 is a cross section of one of the solenoidal valves used in connection with the organ, I a

F i 3 is a detail cross section of theswitch box s owing the arrangement of one of the banks of pneumato-electric switches, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged section of one of the switches, showing the contact mechanism. By way of a brief introduction, it should be stated that the pneumato-electric switch, shown in detail in Figs. 3 and 4, is employed to translate the perforations of a music sheet into music at an organ, as for example in Fig. 1. The invention is used in connection with the kinetoscope 2 in Fig. 1

and forms part of mechanism for playing the organ 4 in accompaniment with the projected picture.

Since the invention relates to the switch in Fig. 4, only a general idea of its association with the kinetoscope need be given. The casing 74 containing the switches 62, is located in the kinetoscope. As the perforations of the music sheets 5, either between rolls 6 and 8, or 7 and 9, pass the tracker bar 10, impulses of air admitted by the perforations enter pipes 61, close an electric circuit over wires 91 contained in the cable 92, energizing solenoids 3 to raise the valve 96 and cause the sounding of a corresponding note.

7 I Specification of Letters Patent. Patentd Aug. 1921. Application ijled October 9, i '7 The pneumato electric switches 62 are arranged invertical position in the metallic switch box 74 from which the air is ex hausted through a' pipe "connection 75 to which. a suitable "pum cerned, is immaterial.

switches 62 are made of some dielectric material as fiber, vulcanite, etc., and

i may be attached. 1 The switches 62 may either be, arranged in banks of sixas shown in Fig.1 8, or in banks ofgreater number as may be deemed most have enlarged threaded bosses? 6 at the top which sc rew into threaded openings in the top of the switch box 74; The special coni struction of one of the pneumato-electrio Other objects and advantages will appear switches 62'is-shown in Fig. 4. Here it 'will 'be seen, that the boss76 is surmounted by a collar 77 which has spannerfwrench holes by means of which the switch 62 maybeiscrewed tightly inplace. Theswitch 62 has a fixed metallic contact 7 8 which is held inp'lace by a bolt'79.i The bolt 7 9 has a spring tip 80 on' the outside, over which one of a plurality of metallic contact sockets 81 of a multiple connection block 82 is adapted to fit.

A movable contact 82 is pressed into engagement with the fixed contact 78, upon the distension of a diaphragm 83 beneath the movable contact 82*, by the pressure of air against the diaphragm. The air enters a passage 84 in the switch 62 through a tubulure 85 at the bottom of the switch. Thev tubulure 85 is tapered on the exposed end, and fits in a socket 86 in the bottom of the switch box 74, with which socket 86 one of the air tubes 61 connects. I

The tubulure 85 is metallic and is in electrical connection with the movable contact 82, through screws 87 that secure the movable contact and the tubulure in place. The diaphragm v8-3 is clamped in place over a chamber 88 at the terminus of the passage 84, by a ring 89. The movable contact 82 has a felt pad 90 on the surface adjacent to the outside. The wire connections 97 of each multiple connection block 82, are housed in the cable or conduit92. The conduits 92 lead to the musical instrument to be played, which. in the case shown in Fig. 1, is the pipe organ 4:.

The preferred method of operating a pipe organ is shown in the drawing. The solenoid or electro-pneumatic valve 3 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, .is employed Where the pipe organ has no keys by which it is manipulated. A. wire 91 is connected to one terminal of the solenoid, while the other terminal of the coil is connected to a metallic bar 93 upon which all of the valves 3 are mounted. A wire 94: leads from the bar 93 to the metallic switch box 7 4, a generator 95 or some other suitable source of current supply being connected in the wire 94:, as shown in Fig. 3.

Incidentally it should be explained, that the electro-pneumatic valve is not limited to the application to organs having no keys, as explained above, but is also adapted to organs having a pneumatic player action.

Referring again to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the solenoid has a movable core 96 which has a leather washer or pallet 97 on the end. The washer 97 normally closes and seals on air outlet 98 to which one of the pipes of the organ 4 is connected. The core 96 is held in place bya spring 99, and when the solenoid is energized, the core 96 is drawn inwardly against the spring 99, until it strikes an abutment screw 100 which limits the inward movement (see Fig. 2). When this occurs, communication is established between the outlet 98 and an inlet 101 to a chamber 102, so that air can flow through and operate a pneumatic valve and sound the note represented by the particular pipe of the organ.

While the construction and arrangement of the switch as illustrated in the accompanying drawings is that of a generally preferred form, obviously modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claim,

I claim:

A pneumato electrie switch comprising a dielectric body having a depressed portion with an air passage and an air chamber and a threaded boss for screwing into a support, a metallic tubulure in the air passage protruding therefrom, a fixed contact carried by the dielectric body and disposed in the depression, and a movable contact secured to said body in electrical connection with the tubulure and having a portion arranged to vibrate againstthe fixed contact by the vibration of the diaphragm therebeneath under pneumatic impulses.

ARTHUR HOWARD WILLIAMS.

Witnesses:

GLEN RoBER'rs, G. R. SORENSEN. 

